What is Reddit's opinion of Fairness and Freedom: A History of Two Open Societies: New Zealand and the United States?

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Just my 2 cents here, but if you want to understand our history a little more, I recommend Fairness and Freedom. It compares NZ and the US so will help you to understand our culture and indigenous rights history against the background of your own history, which in turn might help you to understand the comparison a little more.

http://www.amazon.com/Fairness-Freedom-History-Societies-Zealand/dp/0199832706

The idea that traditional New Zealand was founded on a basis of fairness and equality is well accepted in sociological circles. You can read about it in David Fischer's book, <em>Fairness and Freedom: A History of Two Open Societies: New Zealand and the United States</em>. There's a review from the NZ National Geographic here.

NZ Geo:

> Fischer explores the development of freedom and fairness through detailed, expansive comparisons of American and New Zealand histories. Among subjects surveyed are treatment of Maori and Indians, land settlement practices, immigration policies, women’s rights, racist wrongs, progressive political movements, external relations, the Great Depression and reforms, military traditions, and the crises and challenges of the past 50 years. [...] > > His ideas explain how we have ended up with top-rating television shows such as Fair Go that celebrate the principle, an Ombudsman slogan that reads “Fairness for all” and the strapline for our Inland Revenue Department that once read “It’s our job to be fair”. And his digging has unearthed a central tenet of New Zealand society that we may be too close to really appreciate—that the principle of fairness remains at the core of our national identity. [Cont...]

The decision to transform NZ into a high finance / low wage economy didn't occur until 1985.

<em>Someone Else's Country</em> and <em>Land of Plenty</em> are two documentaries on the change if you are interested. They are both available on YouTube.

On the international scale we are close to the least corrupt. Pretty darn good compared to almost all the world.

I think I went through a phase where I thought any national pride was misplaced but I've come out the side. Stories that give society common cause to improve things for more people in society can be incredible important.

Fairness (vs. freedom) is another interesting and valuable element of NZ culture. E.g. vs the US where it's all "my rights" and "freedom" rather than looking after others and ensuring they're treated fairly. https://www.amazon.com/Fairness-Freedom-History-Societies-Zealand/dp/0199832706 It's really feckin unusual for a country to have a TV show about fairness being top rated for decades.

You'll find this interesting https://www.amazon.com/Fairness-Freedom-History-Societies-Zealand/dp/0199832706